clawfoot bathtubs - a little cost saving tip

I absolutely love the look of clawfoot bathtubs with their undersides painted black.  Matte, glossy, semi.  Whatever.  A high end fixture manufacturer (I won't name names) has been making this tub for awhile now and it. is. pricey.  Absurdly pricey.  On a recent restoration project I was working on, we proposed using aforementioned tub, which the client loved, but budget restrictions forced us to look for an alternative.

We ended up using a less expensive but lovely clawfoot tub with a white underside and had the painter paint it and the legs black.  It cost us one third what the other tub would have.  He used an industrial spray-on enamel, something you can find at a good paint store like Sherwin Williams or Benjamin Moore.  I also think it is something you could definitely DIY, with someone to help with the heavy lifting!

Credit: photos are from Living Etc. and Marie Claire Mason both via Design is Mine.

Comments

[Beegirl]

We had an old one in the woods that I wanted to install when we built our house. It was going to cost a fortune to get it re-done. We put it out at the end of the drive and two guys picked it up in a matter of minutes. They will take ANYthing off the curb in our neighborhood..including my parents broken hot water heater last weekend. I have regretted putting that beauty at the curb ever since. Serious weak moment...sigh...

[Carolina Eclectic]

Great tip. This is such a wonderful look:)

[erinn]

I know. I have a couple of those treasures on the brain that I wish I would have kept. I am constantly trying to balance my need for purging and letting go of things with wanting to keep a lot of things that I think I might want someday or could do something cool with. I won't tell you how many old window sashes I am currently storing in our garage with hopes to 'use' them sometime in the house as decoration.

[Amy]

I really like the black outside. i had never really thought about it being anything but white. we had one in my house growing up. I think the black looks so much more interesting! Thanks for the inspiration! now, if I had just been stalking beegirl's house, i could have claimed her's...

[kathleen]

I love how the tubs look painted black. Very handsome!

[Patrice]

That's a smart saving tip. Your clawfoot bathtubs looks great in that black paint.

[thibaut fabric]

Love your pictures especially the bathroom with the claw bathtub. I love the dark walls with the white tub really pops. Thank you for sharing.

[Rita]

Before I got married, I lived in an apartment with a great claw foot bathtub. I painted the outside white and then painted little silver swirls all over it. How I miss that tub!

[Water Damage Arizona]

My house is very new and modern. I wish there was more of a touch of creativity like your clawfoot tub. I have always thought they look so cool!

<3 Lindsay

[Jenna]

The black wall, the tub and yellow chair. GORGEOUS. Loving this bathroom.

[woodwork]

The bathtub is really cute and the black at the bottom makes it very attractive too...what is the size of the tub?

[dining room tables]

Very creative bathtubs. This is my first time to see a bathtub with black outside. I think I should also paint all bathtubs in our house to make it look like your bathtub. Your bathtubs are so class.

[Home theater construction]

I love that the black outside....Me wanna have one in my house too.... http://www.edgonline.com/ I think the black looks so much more interesting and perfect...

[jamie]

I'm loving the creative baths ;) just what i'm looking for for my bathroom.

i think these baths would fit perfectly, along with some great Bathroom lighting